Decoding downlink control channels for 5G wireless communication systems

ABSTRACT

Improved downlink control information decoding is disclosed herein. Downlink control information, can be in different formats depending on the rank of transmission from the network to the user equipment device. For instance, if the transmission rank is between 1 and 4, the transmission will be a single codeword transmission, while a rank of 5-8 can have two codewords. The downlink control information can have a different format, or structure depending on the number of codewords. The user equipment device can predict whether a single codeword transmission or a multicode codeword transmission is more likely, and attempt to decode the downlink control information using the corresponding format. If the first pass is unsuccessful, the user equipment device can make a second pass decoding based on the alternate format of downlink control information.

RELATED APPLICATION

The subject patent application is a continuation of, and claims priorityto each of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/596,861 (now U.S. Pat.No. 10,708,905), filed Oct. 9, 2019, and entitled “DECODING DOWNLINKCONTROL CHANNELS FOR 5G WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS,” which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/673,919 (now U.S.Pat. No. 10,484,981), filed Aug. 10, 2017, and entitled “DECODINGDOWNLINK CONTROL CHANNELS FOR 5G WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS,” theentireties of which applications are hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to the field of mobilecommunication and, more specifically, to decoding downlink controlchannels in a next generation wireless communications network.

BACKGROUND

To meet the huge demand for data centric applications, Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) systems and systems that employ one or moreaspects of the specifications of the Fourth Generation (4G) standard forwireless communications will be extended to a Fifth Generation (5G)standard for wireless communications. Unique challenges exist to providelevels of service associated with forthcoming 5G and other nextgeneration network standards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the subject disclosureare described with reference to the following figures, wherein likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various viewsunless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example block diagram of a message sequence chartin accordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example flowchart for predicting a format of adownlink control channel in accordance with various aspects andembodiments of the subject disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram showing downlink controlinformation format and location in accordance with various aspects andembodiments of the subject disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example block diagram of a user equipment devicesystem in accordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example block diagram of a user equipment devicesystem in accordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method for decoding downlink controlinformation in accordance with various aspects and embodiments of thesubject disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method for decoding downlink controlinformation in accordance with various aspects and embodiments of thesubject disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example block diagram of an example user equipmentthat can be a mobile handset operable to provide a format indicator inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example block diagram of a computer that can beoperable to execute processes and methods in accordance with variousaspects and embodiments of the subject disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments are now described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It is evident,however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without thesespecific details (and without applying to any particular networkedenvironment or standard).

In various embodiments, a receiver device can comprise a processor and amemory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor facilitate performance of operations. The operations cancomprise receiving a transmission comprising control channelinformation, wherein it is unknown by the receiver device whether thetransmission comprises one codeword or two codewords. The operations canalso comprise determine contextual information related to thetransmission to predict a number of codewords that the transmissioncomprises. The operations can also comprise decoding the transmissionbased on the number of codewords predicted.

In another embodiment, method comprises receiving, by a receiver devicecomprising a processor, a transmission comprising control channelinformation received from a transmitter, wherein a number of codewordsof a data channel associated with the control channel information isunknown and the control channel information has a first structure for asingle codeword data channel, and has a second structure for a multiplecodeword data channel. The method can also comprise determining, by thereceiver device, a probability that the data channel is the singlecodeword data channel. The method can also comprise decoding, by thereceiver device, the transmission based on the first structure inresponse to the probability being at least fifty percent.

In another embodiment machine-readable storage medium, comprisingexecutable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device,facilitate performance of operations. The operations can comprisereceiving a transmission comprising control channel information, whereinthe control channel information comprises a number of codewords that iseither one codeword or two codewords. The operations can also comprisedetermining contextual information related to the transmission todetermine a predicted number for the number of codewords associated witha data channel transmission. The operations can also comprise decodingthe transmission based on the predicted number.

As used in this disclosure, in some embodiments, the terms “component,”“system” and the like are intended to refer to, or comprise, acomputer-related entity or an entity related to an operational apparatuswith one or more specific functionalities, wherein the entity can beeither hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. As an example, a component may be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, computer-executableinstructions, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration andnot limitation, both an application running on a server and the servercan be a component.

One or more components may reside within a process and/or thread ofexecution and a component may be localized on one computer and/ordistributed between two or more computers. In addition, these componentscan execute from various computer readable media having various datastructures stored thereon. The components may communicate via localand/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having oneor more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting withanother component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across anetwork such as the Internet with other systems via the signal). Asanother example, a component can be an apparatus with specificfunctionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric orelectronic circuitry, which is operated by a software application orfirmware application executed by a processor, wherein the processor canbe internal or external to the apparatus and executes at least a part ofthe software or firmware application. As yet another example, acomponent can be an apparatus that provides specific functionalitythrough electronic components without mechanical parts, the electroniccomponents can comprise a processor therein to execute software orfirmware that confers at least in part the functionality of theelectronic components. While various components have been illustrated asseparate components, it will be appreciated that multiple components canbe implemented as a single component, or a single component can beimplemented as multiple components, without departing from exampleembodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable (or machine-readable) device or computer-readable (ormachine-readable) storage/communications media. For example, computerreadable storage media can comprise, but are not limited to, magneticstorage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips), opticaldisks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD)), smartcards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive). Ofcourse, those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications canbe made to this configuration without departing from the scope or spiritof the various embodiments.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or designdescribed herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments ordesigns. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended topresent concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, theterm “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive“or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “Xemploys A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusivepermutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both Aand B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoinginstances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication and the appended claims should generally be construed tomean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context tobe directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “mobile device equipment,” “mobile station,”“mobile,” subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,”“communication device,” “mobile device” (and/or terms representingsimilar terminology) can refer to a wireless device utilized by asubscriber or mobile device of a wireless communication service toreceive or convey data, control, voice, video, sound, gaming orsubstantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. The foregoing termsare utilized interchangeably herein and with reference to the relateddrawings. Likewise, the terms “access point (AP),” “Base Station (BS),”BS transceiver, BS device, cell site, cell site device, “Node B (NB),”“evolved Node B (eNode B),” “home Node B (HNB)” and the like, areutilized interchangeably in the application, and refer to a wirelessnetwork component or appliance that transmits and/or receives data,control, voice, video, sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream orsignaling-stream from one or more subscriber stations. Data andsignaling streams can be packetized or frame-based flows.

Furthermore, the terms “device,” “communication device,” “mobiledevice,” “subscriber,” “customer entity,” “consumer,” “customer entity,”“entity” and the like are employed interchangeably throughout, unlesscontext warrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should beappreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automatedcomponents supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., a capacityto make inference based on complex mathematical formalisms), which canprovide simulated vision, sound recognition and so forth.

Embodiments described herein can be exploited in substantially anywireless communication technology, comprising, but not limited to,wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), global system for mobile communications(GSM), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), worldwideinteroperability for microwave access (WiMAX), enhanced general packetradio service (enhanced GPRS), third generation partnership project(3GPP) long term evolution (LTE), third generation partnership project 2(3GPP2) ultra mobile broadband (UMB), high speed packet access (HSPA),Z-Wave, Zigbee and other 802.XX wireless technologies and/or legacytelecommunication technologies.

Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for improved downlinkcontrol information decoding. Downlink control information, can be indifferent formats depending on the rank of transmission from the networkto the user equipment device. For instance, if the transmission rank isbetween 1 and 4, the transmission will be a single codewordtransmission, while a rank of 5-8 can have two codewords. The downlinkcontrol information can have a different format, or structure dependingon the number of codewords. The user equipment device can predictwhether a single codeword transmission or a multiple codewordtransmission is more likely, and attempt to decode the downlink controlinformation using the corresponding format. If the first pass isunsuccessful, the user equipment device can make a second pass decodingbased on the alternate format of downlink control information.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication system 100 inaccordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subjectdisclosure. In one or more embodiments, system 100 can comprise one ormore user equipment UEs 104 and 102, which can have one or more antennapanels having vertical and horizontal elements. A UE 102 can be a mobiledevice such as a cellular phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, awearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, a heads-up display (HUD)device, a smart car, a machine-type communication (MTC) device, and thelike. User equipment UE 102 can also comprise IOT devices thatcommunicate wirelessly. In various embodiments, system 100 is orcomprises a wireless communication network serviced by one or morewireless communication network providers. In example embodiments, a UE102 can be communicatively coupled to the wireless communication networkvia a network node 106.

The non-limiting term network node (or radio network node) is usedherein to refer to any type of network node serving a UE 102 and UE 104and/or connected to other network node, network element, or anothernetwork node from which the UE 102 or 104 can receive a radio signal.Network nodes can also have multiple antennas for performing varioustransmission operations (e.g., MIMO operations). A network node can havea cabinet and other protected enclosures, an antenna mast, and actualantennas. Network nodes can serve several cells, also called sectors,depending on the configuration and type of antenna. Examples of networknodes (e.g., network node 106) can comprise but are not limited to:NodeB devices, base station (BS) devices, access point (AP) devices, andradio access network (RAN) devices. The network node 106 can alsocomprise multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node devices, including butnot limited to: an MSR BS, an eNode B, a network controller, a radionetwork controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a relay, adonor node controlling relay, a base transceiver station (BTS), atransmission point, a transmission node, an RRU, an RRH, nodes indistributed antenna system (DAS), and the like. In 5G terminology, thenode 106 can be referred to as a gNodeB device.

Wireless communication system 100 can employ various cellulartechnologies and modulation schemes to facilitate wireless radiocommunications between devices (e.g., the UE 102 and 104 and the networknode 106). For example, system 100 can operate in accordance with aUMTS, long term evolution (LTE), high speed packet access (HSPA), codedivision multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA),frequency division multiple access (FDMA), multi-carrier code divisionmultiple access (MC-CDMA), single-carrier code division multiple access(SC-CDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), OFDM, (DFT)-spread OFDM orSC-FDMA)), FBMC, ZT DFT-s-OFDM, GFDM, UFMC, UW DFT-Spread-OFDM, UW-OFDM,CP-OFDM, resource-block-filtered OFDM, and UFMC. However, variousfeatures and functionalities of system 100 are particularly describedwherein the devices (e.g., the UEs 102 and 104 and the network device106) of system 100 are configured to communicate wireless signals usingone or more multi carrier modulation schemes, wherein data symbols canbe transmitted simultaneously over multiple frequency subcarriers (e.g.,OFDM, CP-OFDM, DFT-spread OFMD, UFMC, FMBC, etc.).

In various embodiments, system 100 can be configured to provide andemploy 5G wireless networking features and functionalities. 5G wirelesscommunication networks are expected to fulfill the demand ofexponentially increasing data traffic and to allow people and machinesto enjoy gigabit data rates with virtually zero latency. Compared to 4G,5G supports more diverse traffic scenarios. For example, in addition tothe various types of data communication between conventional UEs (e.g.,phones, smartphones, tablets, PCs, televisions, Internet enabledtelevisions, etc.) supported by 4G networks, 5G networks can be employedto support data communication between smart cars in association withdriverless car environments, as well as machine type communications(MTCs). Considering the drastic different communication needs of thesedifferent traffic scenarios, the ability to dynamically configurewaveform parameters based on traffic scenarios while retaining thebenefits of multi carrier modulation schemes (e.g., OFDM and relatedschemes) can provide a significant contribution to the highspeed/capacity and low latency demands of 5G networks. With waveformsthat split the bandwidth into several sub-bands, different types ofservices can be accommodated in different sub-bands with the mostsuitable waveform and numerology, leading to an improved spectrumutilization for 5G networks.

In an embodiment UE 102 and UE 104 can receive downlink controlinformation from network node 106. Depending on the signal tointerference plus noise ratio (SINR) of transmissions and other relevantconditions between the network node 106 and the UE devices 102 and 104,the data channel transmissions can be of various ranks that have acorresponding number of layers.

For traditional multi-codeword MIMO communications, the feedback channel(both downlink and uplink) overhead is proportional to the transmissionrank. For example if the UE reported rank is equal to four, then thereceiver reports four channel quality indicators, similarly thetransmitter needs to transmit information relating to four transportblock sizes, modulation formats, HARQ process numbers, redundancyversions and etc. Hence the feedback channel overhead is proportional tothe transmission rank. For reducing the overhead, the codeworddimensioning principle was proposed in LTE to bundle the layers andsupports up to two layers per codeword. Where the codeword is defined asan information block appended with a CRC. Each codeword is separatelycoded using turbo coding and the coded bits from each codeword arescrambled separately. The complex-valued modulation symbols for each ofthe codewords to be transmitted are mapped onto one or multiple layers.The complex-valued modulation symbols d^((q)()0), . . . ,d^((q))(M^((q)) _(symb)−1) for code word q are mapped onto the layersx(i)=[x⁽⁰⁾(i) . . . x^((n−1))(i)]^(T), i=0, 1, . . . , M^(layer)_(symb)−1, where v is the number of layers and M^(layer) _(symb) is thenumber of modulation symbols per layer. In LTE, whenever thetransmission rank is more than two, the transport block size isincreases to accommodate higher numbers of bits.

For rank one through four communications, the network node 106 cantransmit one codeword that comprises the data on 1-4 layers. For rankfive through eight transmissions, the network node 106 can transmit thedata via two codewords. The DCI format selected to the schedule andfacilitate the data channel transmissions can be different depending onthe number of layers involved, or based on the number of codewords.

In traditional systems, the receiver would not know which format the DCIwas sent in before attempting to decode, and so would then sequentiallyattempt to decode the DCI based on a first format, and if the cyclicredundancy check bits passed, then an acknowledgement (ACK) would besent. If the cyclic redundancy check bits did not pass, then the nextDCI format would be used to decode the DCI.

In the current embodiment, in order to save time and computingresources, the user equipment (e.g., 102 and/or 104) can predict howmany codewords will be used to transmit the data channel, and use thecorresponding DCI format to decode the control channel transmission onthe first pass, thus increasing the likelihood of successfully decodingthe DCI on the first attempt. If the decoding is successful, the UE 102or 104 can follow the convention procedure for reporting ACK/NAK. If thedecoding is unsuccessful, based on a review of the cyclic redundancycheck bits, then the other DCI format can be used to decode the DCI. Andif the second pass is successful, then the UE 102 or 104 can follow theconvention ACK/NAK procedure, but if it is unsuccessful, then the UE 102or 104 can assume that it is not scheduled by the network.

Turning now to FIG. 2, illustrated is an example block diagram of amessage sequence chart 200 in accordance with various aspects andembodiments of the subject disclosure.

The message sequence chart 200 can be between a gNodeB 202 and a UE 204within the gNodeB 202 cell. The gNodeB 202 can send a reference signal206 (CSI-RS) to the UE 204. The reference signal 206 can be a pilotsignal that is cellular specific or UE specific and is used by the UE204 to acquire channel-state information (CSI) and beam specificinformation (beam RSRP). In 5G wireless networks, the CSI-RS is UEspecific so it can have a significantly lower time/frequency density.The reference signal 206 can also include demodulation reference signalsthat are intended to be used by terminals for channel estimation fordata channel. The label “UE-specific” relates to the fact that eachdemodulation reference signal is intended for channel estimation by asingle terminal. That specific reference signal is then only transmittedwithin the resource blocks assigned for data traffic channeltransmission to that terminal.

The UE 204 can send back a feedback signal 208 that comprises channelstate information determined from the reference signal(s) 206. Thechannel state information can include a channel quality indicator,precoding matrix, rank information, and resource indicator (beamindicator). The rank indicator can indicate the number of layers thatare supportable in transmissions between the gNodeB 202 and the UE 204.For instance, when the SINR is low, due to a function of low power, alarge distance between the devices, path loss, and/or otherinterference, the rank indicator can be 1, indicating that only onelayer can be supported. In other embodiments, when the SINR is high, theRank can be two or four or higher, indicating that multiple data layerscan be supported, allowing MIMO communications between the gNodeB 202and the UE 204.

In an embodiment, the downlink control channel 210 (Physical DownlinkControl Channel—“PDCCH”) comprises information about scheduling grants,which comprises number of MIMO layers scheduled, transport block sizes,modulation for each codeword, parameters related to HARQ, sub bandlocations and also PMI corresponding to that sub bands as well asredundancy version information. Note that, all downlink controlinformation (DCI) formats may not use transmit all the information asshown above, In general the contents of PDCCH depends on transmissionmode and DCI format. Depending on the rank of the data traffic channel212 from the gNodeB 202 to the UE 204, the format of the DCI can bedifferent, as different types of information will be sent depending onwhether the transmission is a single codeword transmission or multiplecodeword transmission.

Hence two sets of control channels are needed for conveying thescheduling information from the network to the UE 204. However, sincethe UE 204 does not know the number of layers scheduled as thisinformation is part of the downlink control channel 210, the UE has todecode the two sets of control channels to check whether it is scheduledor not. It can be observed that decoding two control channels isinefficient scheme as the number of computational resources are wasted.Hence an efficient solution is needed to decode control channel 210 withmulti antenna wireless communication systems.

Accordingly, the UE 204 can determine a probability that the gNodeB 202will be using a DCI format corresponding to either the single codewordtransmission or multiple codeword transmission, and attempt to decodethe higher probability DCI format first. If the attempt is successful,the UE 204 can send back the ACK/NAK to the gNodeB 202 as appropriateand receive the data traffic channel 212. If the attempt isunsuccessful, then the UE 204 can decode the DCI 210 using the alternateformat.

Turning now to FIG. 3, illustrated is an example flowchart forpredicting a format of a downlink control channel in accordance withvarious aspects and embodiments of the subject disclosure. At 302 the UEreceives a downlink control information transmission (e.g., on aPhysical Downlink Control Channel PDCCH). In order to schedule asubsequent data traffic channel, the UE should decode the DCItransmission in order to learn the scheduling parameters, and otherparameters affiliated with preparing to receive the data traffic.

At 304, the UE can predict the rank of the associated data channel. Bypredicting the rank, the UE can determine the likelihood that the datatraffic transmission will be sent using either a single codeword or atwo codeword transmission. Depending on the rank/layer of thetransmission, the DCI will be in different formats or structures due tothe different types of information needed to schedule and facilitate thedata traffic transmission.

The UE can predict the rank of the associated data channel using avariety of parameters including, but not limited to location of the UErelative to the transmitter/network node, the rank reported by the UE(e.g., in the channel state information), the number of layers and/orcodewords scheduled in past time intervals, the network indication aboutthe maximum number of layers or codewords, or a combination of theparameters, with different weighting functions applied to each of theparameters. For instance, the network indication about the maximumnumber of layers can supersede other parameters, and the rank reportedby the UE can have higher weighting than the previous layers/codewords.

Location of the UE: One criterion for determining first pass DCI is toidentify the location of the UE in the cell. For example when the UE isnearer to the Node B it will choose the two codeword as the first passDCI. This is because at the cell center the UE generally reports a highrank. Note that there are several methods to identify the UE locationfrom gNode B. For example using GPS measurements, using the measuredCQIs, using the mobility measurement reports etc. The size of the NCL isan indication whether the UE is at the cell center or not.

Rank Reported by the UE: Another criterion for determining first passDCI is based on the rank reported by the UE during CSI reporting over aperiod of time. This is because, say if the UE reports rank is less than5 over a period of time, it is unlikely that the network schedules theUE with rank greater than 4.

Number of layers/CW scheduled in the past time intervals: This criterionis similar to the above. In this case, the UE monitors the number oflayers scheduled over a period of time and decides about the first passDCI. This is because, it is unlikely that the network schedules the UEwith high rank if the number of layers scheduled for this particular UEare low.

Indication from the network about the maximum number of layers: Anothercriterion for determining first pass DCI is to if the UE receives asignaling from network about the maximum number of layers or maximumnumber of codewords it can expect. For example, the network can indicatethe UE should expect maximum 1 CW. In this case, the UE will decodesingle codeword DCI and determines whether it is scheduled or not.

At 306, after determining which format the DCI most likely to be in, theUE can decode the DCI based on the determined format. If it is a successat 308, then the UE can report the ACK/NAK at 310 according toconventional procedures to begin facilitating the data traffic channel.If it is not a success, then the UE can decode using the alternateformat at 312. For instance, if the UE determines that the transmissionis likely to be a single codeword transmission (e.g., rank 1-4) then theUE can attempt to make a first pass using the DCI format correspondingto rank 1-4 transmissions. If that fails, then the UE can attempt todecode the DCI using the DCI format corresponding to rank 5-8transmissions (two codewords). The UE can determine whether the decodingof the DCI was successful by checking the cyclic redundancy check bitsappended to the DCI transmission.

If the second pass decoding at 312 is successful at 314, then the UE canreport the ACK/NAK at 316. If it is unsuccessful at 318, then the UE candetermine that the UE was not scheduled for that time frame, and waitfor a new DCI transmission in a new time frame.

Turning now to FIG. 4, illustrated is an example block diagram 400showing downlink control information format and location in accordancewith various aspects and embodiments of the subject disclosure. In theembodiment, shown in FIG. 4, UE 406 and UE 404 can determine whichformat to decode the DCI received from network node 402 based on thelocation in which they are in relative to the network node 402.

In an embodiment, transmissions are likelier to be higher rank if thesignal to interference plus noise ratio of a channel is higher, and soUEs that are closer to the network node 402 will be more likely toreceive data traffic channels that are sent from the network node 402using multiple codeword transmissions. Accordingly, in an embodiment, UE406 which is within a range 410 of the network node 402 will haveprobability above 50% that that DCI will be in a format corresponding toa multiple codeword transmission, and thus the first pass will use themulti-codeword DCI format. By contrast, UE 404 which is outside therange 410, but within range 408, will use the DCI format correspondingto a single codeword transmission to decode the DCI received fromnetwork node 402.

It is to be appreciated that the ranges 410 and 408 are not fixed, andcan change depending on the transmit power of the network node 402,interference from other network nodes and UEs, obstructions between thenetwork node 402 and UE devices (e.g., buildings, trees, topography,etc.). In some embodiments, the range 410 can vary depending on whichdirection the UE is in from the network node 402. The distances can bedetermined based on the measured SINR values received from the UEdevices.

Referring now to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, illustrated are example blockdiagrams 400 and 500 of a user equipment device 502 in accordance withvarious aspects and embodiments of the subject disclosure showing howthe UE device can improve the DCI decoding performance in a wirelesscommunications system.

User equipment device 502 can include a transceiver component 504 thatreceives a downlink control transmission comprising control channelinformation, wherein it is unknown whether a data channel transmissionassociated with the control channel information comprises one or twocodewords. The downlink control transmission can be received in order tofacilitate the transceiver component 504 receiving the subsequent datachannel transmission.

A prediction component 506 can determine contextual information relatedto the data channel transmission to predict a number of codewords thatthe data channel transmission comprises. The contextual information caninclude information relating the location of the user equipment device502, or a rank reported by the user equipment device 502 in the channelstate information, or a number of layers/codewords scheduled in datachannel transmissions in previous time intervals, or based on thenetwork indication about the maximum number of layers or codewords, orsome combination thereof.

Once the prediction component 506 determines the most likely rank ornumber of codewords in the data channel transmission, the decodingcomponent 508 can decode the downlink control information using theformat associated with the prediction. The CRC component 510 can checkthe CRC bits appended to the downlink control information to ensure thatthe decoding performed by the decoding component 508 was successful. Ifit was unsuccessful, then the decoding component 508 can decode thedownlink control information again, using the alternate format.

Turning now to FIG. 6, illustrated is an example block diagram 600 of auser equipment device 502 in accordance with various aspects andembodiments of the subject disclosure. In FIG. 6, shown are some of therespective components of the prediction component 506.

In particular, a location component 602 can be provided to estimate thelikelihood of the downlink control information being in a formatassociated with a single codeword or multiple codeword based on thelocation of the user equipment device 502. In an embodiment, thelocation component 602 can determine the location of the user equipmentdevice 502 based on the relative SINR of a reference signal receivedfrom a network node. In other embodiments, the location can be explicit,determined from global positioning satellite receivers on the userequipment device 502 or based on network location determination usingmultilateration or other location determination algorithms In anembodiment, the user equipment device 502 can determine whether it iswithin a predetermined range of a network node, or within a geofencearea defined by the network node or mobile network.

In an embodiment, a rank component 604 can be provided to determine arank reported by the user equipment device 502 during channel stateinformation reporting in response to receiving the reference signal.This is because, say if the UE reports rank is less than 5 over a periodof time, it is unlikely that the network schedules the UE with rankgreater than 4 at the current time.

In another embodiment, the prediction component 506 can include ahistorical component 606 that monitors the number of layers scheduledover a period of time and decides about the first pass DCI. This isbecause, it is unlikely that the network schedules the UE with high rankif the number of layers scheduled for this particular UE are low. In anembodiment, the period of time in which the historical component 606monitors the history can be determine by the mobile network, or canchange in response to various other environment concerns. For instance,the historical component 606 can use a shorter length of time in whichto determine the predicted rank if the user equipment device 502 ismoving, or is near the edge of a cell. The length of time polled by thehistorical component can decrease in an inverse relationship to thespeed of the user equipment device 506.

In an embodiment, the prediction component 506 can also include anindicator component 608 that can monitor the mobile network anddetermine whether the mobile network has set a maximum allowed rank. Forinstance, if the mobile network has determine that the maximum rank is4, then the indicator component 608 can determine that the decodingcomponent 508 should decode the downlink control information using theformat corresponding to a single codeword. Similarly, the indicatorcomponent 608 can determine whether the network has set a minimum rank(e.g., 5) and so the decoding component 508 will decode the downlinkcontrol information using the format corresponding to multiplecodewords.

In an embodiment, the prediction component 506 can weight each of thepredictions using different weightings that are static or change overtime. For instance, the indicator component 608 determinations can beranked higher and/or carry more weight than the location component 602determinations. Likewise, the location component 602 predictions can beweighted differently depending on how near to a transition point (e.g.,crossing boundary 410) the user equipment device 502 is or based on thespeed of the user equipment device 502.

FIGS. 7-8 illustrates a process in connection with the aforementionedsystems. The processes in FIGS. 7-8 can be implemented for example bythe systems in FIGS. 1-6 respectively. While for purposes of simplicityof explanation, the methods are shown and described as a series ofblocks, it is to be understood and appreciated that the claimed subjectmatter is not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks mayoccur in different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks fromwhat is depicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustratedblocks may be required to implement the methods described hereinafter.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method 700 for decoding downlink controlinformation in accordance with various aspects and embodiments of thesubject disclosure.

Method 700 can start at 702, where the method comprises receiving, by areceiver device comprising a processor, a transmission comprisingcontrol channel information received from a transmitter, wherein anumber of codewords of a data channel associated with the controlchannel information is unknown and the control channel information has afirst structure for a single codeword data channel, and has a secondstructure for a multiple codeword data channel.

At 704 the method comprises de determining, by the receiver device, aprobability that the data channel is the single codeword data channel.

At 706, the method comprises decoding, by the receiver device, thetransmission based on the first structure in response to the probabilitybeing at least fifty percent.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method 800 for decoding downlink controlinformation in accordance with various aspects and embodiments of thesubject disclosure.

Method 800 can start at 802, where the method comprises receiving adownlink control transmission comprising control channel information,wherein it is unknown whether a data channel transmission associatedwith the control channel information comprises one codeword or twocodewords.

At 804 the method comprises determining contextual information relatedto the data channel transmission to predict a number of codewords thatthe data channel transmission comprises.

At 806, the method comprises decoding the downlink control transmissionbased on the number of codewords predicted.

Referring now to FIG. 9, illustrated is a schematic block diagram of anexample end-user device such as a user equipment) that can be a mobiledevice 900 capable of connecting to a network in accordance with someembodiments described herein. Although a mobile handset 900 isillustrated herein, it will be understood that other devices can be amobile device, and that the mobile handset 900 is merely illustrated toprovide context for the embodiments of the various embodiments describedherein. The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of an example of a suitable environment 900 in which thevarious embodiments can be implemented. While the description includes ageneral context of computer-executable instructions embodied on amachine-readable storage medium, those skilled in the art will recognizethat the various embodiments also can be implemented in combination withother program modules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, applications (e.g., program modules) can include routines,programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particulartasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the methods described herein canbe practiced with other system configurations, includingsingle-processor or multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, and the like,each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associateddevices.

A computing device can typically include a variety of machine-readablemedia. Machine-readable media can be any available media that can beaccessed by the computer and includes both volatile and non-volatilemedia, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and notlimitation, computer-readable media can comprise computer storage mediaand communication media. Computer storage media can include volatileand/or non-volatile media, removable and/or non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information, suchas computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Computer storage media can include, but is not limited to,RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD ROM,digital video disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the computer.

Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includesany information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the anyof the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

The handset 900 includes a processor 902 for controlling and processingall onboard operations and functions. A memory 904 interfaces to theprocessor 902 for storage of data and one or more applications 906(e.g., a video player software, user feedback component software, etc.).Other applications can include voice recognition of predetermined voicecommands that facilitate initiation of the user feedback signals. Theapplications 906 can be stored in the memory 904 and/or in a firmware908, and executed by the processor 902 from either or both the memory904 or/and the firmware 908. The firmware 908 can also store startupcode for execution in initializing the handset 900. A communicationscomponent 910 interfaces to the processor 902 to facilitatewired/wireless communication with external systems, e.g., cellularnetworks, VoIP networks, and so on. Here, the communications component910 can also include a suitable cellular transceiver 911 (e.g., a GSMtransceiver) and/or an unlicensed transceiver 913 (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMax)for corresponding signal communications. The handset 900 can be a devicesuch as a cellular telephone, a PDA with mobile communicationscapabilities, and messaging-centric devices. The communicationscomponent 910 also facilitates communications reception from terrestrialradio networks (e.g., broadcast), digital satellite radio networks, andInternet-based radio services networks.

The handset 900 includes a display 912 for displaying text, images,video, telephony functions (e.g., a Caller ID function), setupfunctions, and for user input. For example, the display 912 can also bereferred to as a “screen” that can accommodate the presentation ofmultimedia content (e.g., music metadata, messages, wallpaper, graphics,etc.). The display 912 can also display videos and can facilitate thegeneration, editing and sharing of video quotes. A serial I/O interface914 is provided in communication with the processor 902 to facilitatewired and/or wireless serial communications (e.g., USB, and/or IEEE1394) through a hardwire connection, and other serial input devices(e.g., a keyboard, keypad, and mouse). This supports updating andtroubleshooting the handset 900, for example. Audio capabilities areprovided with an audio I/O component 916, which can include a speakerfor the output of audio signals related to, for example, indication thatthe user pressed the proper key or key combination to initiate the userfeedback signal. The audio I/O component 916 also facilitates the inputof audio signals through a microphone to record data and/or telephonyvoice data, and for inputting voice signals for telephone conversations.

The handset 900 can include a slot interface 918 for accommodating a SIC(Subscriber Identity Component) in the form factor of a card SubscriberIdentity Module (SIM) or universal SIM 920, and interfacing the SIM card920 with the processor 902. However, it is to be appreciated that theSIM card 920 can be manufactured into the handset 900, and updated bydownloading data and software.

The handset 900 can process IP data traffic through the communicationcomponent 910 to accommodate IP traffic from an IP network such as, forexample, the Internet, a corporate intranet, a home network, a personarea network, etc., through an ISP or broadband cable provider. Thus,VoIP traffic can be utilized by the handset 800 and IP-based multimediacontent can be received in either an encoded or decoded format.

A video processing component 922 (e.g., a camera) can be provided fordecoding encoded multimedia content. The video processing component 922can aid in facilitating the generation, editing and sharing of videoquotes. The handset 900 also includes a power source 924 in the form ofbatteries and/or an AC power subsystem, which power source 924 caninterface to an external power system or charging equipment (not shown)by a power I/O component 926.

The handset 900 can also include a video component 930 for processingvideo content received and, for recording and transmitting videocontent. For example, the video component 930 can facilitate thegeneration, editing and sharing of video quotes. A location trackingcomponent 932 facilitates geographically locating the handset 900. Asdescribed hereinabove, this can occur when the user initiates thefeedback signal automatically or manually. A user input component 934facilitates the user initiating the quality feedback signal. The userinput component 934 can also facilitate the generation, editing andsharing of video quotes. The user input component 934 can include suchconventional input device technologies such as a keypad, keyboard,mouse, stylus pen, and/or touch screen, for example.

Referring again to the applications 906, a hysteresis component 936facilitates the analysis and processing of hysteresis data, which isutilized to determine when to associate with the access point. Asoftware trigger component 938 can be provided that facilitatestriggering of the hysteresis component 938 when the Wi-Fi transceiver913 detects the beacon of the access point. A SIP client 940 enables thehandset 900 to support SIP protocols and register the subscriber withthe SIP registrar server. The applications 906 can also include a client942 that provides at least the capability of discovery, play and storeof multimedia content, for example, music.

The handset 900, as indicated above related to the communicationscomponent 810, includes an indoor network radio transceiver 913 (e.g.,Wi-Fi transceiver). This function supports the indoor radio link, suchas IEEE 802.11, for the dual-mode GSM handset 900. The handset 900 canaccommodate at least satellite radio services through a handset that cancombine wireless voice and digital radio chipsets into a single handhelddevice.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputer 1000 operable to execute the functions and operations performedin the described example embodiments. For example, a network node (e.g.,network node 406) may contain components as described in FIG. 10. Thecomputer 1000 can provide networking and communication capabilitiesbetween a wired or wireless communication network and a server and/orcommunication device. In order to provide additional context for variousaspects thereof, FIG. 10 and the following discussion are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environmentin which the various aspects of the embodiments can be implemented tofacilitate the establishment of a transaction between an entity and athird party. While the description above is in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers,those skilled in the art will recognize that the various embodimentsalso can be implemented in combination with other program modules and/oras a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the various methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

The illustrated aspects of the various embodiments can also be practicedin distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performedby remote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can belocated in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which caninclude computer-readable storage media or communications media, whichtwo terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.

Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structureddata, or unstructured data. Computer-readable storage media can include,but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical diskstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitorymedia which can be used to store desired information. Computer-readablestorage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computingdevices, e.g., via access requests, queries or other data retrievalprotocols, for a variety of operations with respect to the informationstored by the medium.

Communications media can embody computer-readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other structured or unstructured data ina data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave orother transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery ortransport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signals refers to asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By way ofexample, and not limitation, communication media include wired media,such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

With reference to FIG. 10, implementing various aspects described hereinwith regards to the end-user device can include a computer 1000, thecomputer 1000 including a processing unit 1004, a system memory 1006 anda system bus 1008. The system bus 1008 couples system componentsincluding, but not limited to, the system memory 1006 to the processingunit 1004. The processing unit 1004 can be any of various commerciallyavailable processors. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processorarchitectures can also be employed as the processing unit 1004.

The system bus 1008 can be any of several types of bus structure thatcan further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 1006includes read-only memory (ROM) 1027 and random access memory (RAM)1012. A basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in a non-volatilememory 1027 such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basicroutines that help to transfer information between elements within thecomputer 1000, such as during start-up. The RAM 1012 can also include ahigh-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 1000 further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)1014 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive 1014 can also beconfigured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), amagnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1016, (e.g., to read from or write to aremovable diskette 1018) and an optical disk drive 1020, (e.g., readinga CD-ROM disk 1022 or, to read from or write to other high capacityoptical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive 1014, magnetic diskdrive 1016 and optical disk drive 1020 can be connected to the systembus 1008 by a hard disk drive interface 1024, a magnetic disk driveinterface 1026 and an optical drive interface 1028, respectively. Theinterface 1024 for external drive implementations includes at least oneor both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 interfacetechnologies. Other external drive connection technologies are withincontemplation of the subject embodiments.

The drives and their associated computer-readable media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 1000 the drives and mediaaccommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to aHDD, a removable magnetic diskette, and a removable optical media suchas a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat other types of media which are readable by a computer 1000, such aszip drives, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and thelike, can also be used in the example operating environment, andfurther, that any such media can contain computer-executableinstructions for performing the methods of the disclosed embodiments.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 1012,including an operating system 1030, one or more application programs1032, other program modules 1034 and program data 1036. All or portionsof the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 1012. It is to be appreciated that the variousembodiments can be implemented with various commercially availableoperating systems or combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1000 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 1038 and apointing device, such as a mouse 1040. Other input devices (not shown)may include a microphone, an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad,a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devicesare often connected to the processing unit 1004 through an input deviceinterface 1042 that is coupled to the system bus 1008, but can beconnected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 1044 or other type of display device is also connected to thesystem bus 1008 through an interface, such as a video adapter 1046. Inaddition to the monitor 1044, a computer 1000 typically includes otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 1000 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections by wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 1048. The remotecomputer(s) 1048 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentdevice, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer,although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device 1050 isillustrated. The logical connections depicted include wired/wirelessconnectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1052 and/or larger networks,e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1054. Such LAN and WAN networkingenvironments are commonplace in offices and companies, and facilitateenterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all of which mayconnect to a global communications network, e.g., the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1000 isconnected to the local network 1052 through a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network interface or adapter 1056. The adapter 1056 mayfacilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 1052, which mayalso include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicatingwith the wireless adapter 1056.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1000 can includea modem 1058, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN1054, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN1054, such as by way of the Internet. The modem 1058, which can beinternal or external and a wired or wireless device, is connected to thesystem bus 1008 through the input device interface 1042. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer, orportions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device1050. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areexemplary and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers can be used.

The computer is operable to communicate with any wireless devices orentities operatively disposed in wireless communication, e.g., aprinter, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portable dataassistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment or locationassociated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand,restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™wireless technologies. Thus, the communication can be a predefinedstructure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoccommunication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows connection to the Internet from acouch at home, a bed in a hotel room, or a conference room at work,without wires. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in acell phone that enables such devices, e.g., computers, to send andreceive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a basestation. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE802.11 (a, b,g, n, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. AWi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to theInternet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Finetworks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, at an 11Mbps (802.11b) or 54 Mbps (802.11a) data rate, for example, or withproducts that contain both bands (dual band), so the networks canprovide real-world performance similar to the basic “10BaseT” wiredEthernet networks used in many offices.

As used in this application, the terms “system,” “component,”“interface,” and the like are generally intended to refer to acomputer-related entity or an entity related to an operational machinewith one or more specific functionalities. The entities disclosed hereincan be either hardware, a combination of hardware and software,software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, butis not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor,an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. These components also can execute from various computerreadable storage media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry that is operated bysoftware or firmware application(s) executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can comprise a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that confers at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. An interface can comprise input/output (I/O)components as well as associated processor, application, and/or APIcomponents.

Furthermore, the disclosed subject matter may be implemented as amethod, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programmingand/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware,or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement thedisclosed subject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as usedherein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, computer-readable carrier, orcomputer-readable media. For example, computer-readable media caninclude, but are not limited to, a magnetic storage device, e.g., harddisk; floppy disk; magnetic strip(s); an optical disk (e.g., compactdisk (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), a Blu-ray Disc™ (BD)); a smartcard; a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive); and/or avirtual device that emulates a storage device and/or any of the abovecomputer-readable media.

As it employed in the subject specification, the term “processor” canrefer to substantially any computing processing unit or devicecomprising, but not limited to comprising, single-core processors;single-processors with software multithread execution capability;multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithreadexecution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithreadtechnology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributedshared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integratedcircuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aprogrammable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device(CPLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures suchas, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors,switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage or enhanceperformance of user equipment. A processor also can be implemented as acombination of computing processing units.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “data store,” “datastorage,” “database,” “repository,” “queue”, and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can comprise both volatile andnonvolatile memory. In addition, memory components or memory elementscan be removable or stationary. Moreover, memory can be internal orexternal to a device or component, or removable or stationary. Memorycan comprise various types of media that are readable by a computer,such as hard-disc drives, zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards or other types of memory cards, cartridges, or the like.

By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory cancomprise read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flashmemory. Volatile memory can comprise random access memory (RAM), whichacts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and notlimitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM(SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), anddirect Rambus RAM (DRRAM). Additionally, the disclosed memory componentsof systems or methods herein are intended to comprise, without beinglimited to comprising, these and any other suitable types of memory.

In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurallyequivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function inthe herein illustrated example aspects of the embodiments. In thisregard, it will also be recognized that the embodiments comprises asystem as well as a computer-readable medium having computer-executableinstructions for performing the acts and/or events of the variousmethods.

Computing devices typically comprise a variety of media, which cancomprise computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and comprises both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structureddata, or unstructured data. Computer-readable storage media cancomprise, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory orother memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/ornon-transitory media which can be used to store desired information.Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

On the other hand, communications media typically embodycomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother structured or unstructured data in a data signal such as amodulated data signal, e.g., a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and comprises any information delivery or transport media.The term “modulated data signal” or signals refers to a signal that hasone or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as toencode information in one or more signals. By way of example, and notlimitation, communications media comprise wired media, such as a wirednetwork or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic,RF, infrared and other wireless media

Further, terms like “user equipment,” “user device,” “mobile device,”“mobile,” station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” andsimilar terminology, generally refer to a wireless device utilized by asubscriber or user of a wireless communication network or service toreceive or convey data, control, voice, video, sound, gaming, orsubstantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. The foregoing termsare utilized interchangeably in the subject specification and relateddrawings. Likewise, the terms “access point,” “node B,” “base station,”“evolved Node B,” “cell,” “cell site,” and the like, can be utilizedinterchangeably in the subject application, and refer to a wirelessnetwork component or appliance that serves and receives data, control,voice, video, sound, gaming, or substantially any data-stream orsignaling-stream from a set of subscriber stations. Data and signalingstreams can be packetized or frame-based flows. It is noted that in thesubject specification and drawings, context or explicit distinctionprovides differentiation with respect to access points or base stationsthat serve and receive data from a mobile device in an outdoorenvironment, and access points or base stations that operate in aconfined, primarily indoor environment overlaid in an outdoor coveragearea. Data and signaling streams can be packetized or frame-based flows.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer,” andthe like are employed interchangeably throughout the subjectspecification, unless context warrants particular distinction(s) amongthe terms. It should be appreciated that such terms can refer to humanentities, associated devices, or automated components supported throughartificial intelligence (e.g., a capacity to make inference based oncomplex mathematical formalisms) which can provide simulated vision,sound recognition and so forth. In addition, the terms “wirelessnetwork” and “network” are used interchangeable in the subjectapplication, when context wherein the term is utilized warrantsdistinction for clarity purposes such distinction is made explicit.

Moreover, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as anexample, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design describedherein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the wordexemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As usedin this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or”rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, orclear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of thenatural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; orX employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under anyof the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” asused in this application and the appended claims should generally beconstrued to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear fromcontext to be directed to a singular form.

In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed withrespect to only one of several implementations, such feature may becombined with one or more other features of the other implementations asmay be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes” and “including” andvariants thereof are used in either the detailed description or theclaims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar tothe term “comprising.”

The above descriptions of various embodiments of the subject disclosureand corresponding figures and what is described in the Abstract, aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise formsdisclosed. It is to be understood that one of ordinary skill in the artmay recognize that other embodiments having modifications, permutations,combinations, and additions can be implemented for performing the same,similar, alternative, or substitute functions of the disclosed subjectmatter, and are therefore considered within the scope of thisdisclosure. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not belimited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should beconstrued in breadth and scope in accordance with the claims below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A receiver device, comprising: a processor; and amemory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising: based oncontextual information comprising a location of the receiver devicerelative to network equipment, predicting a number of codewords that anext data channel transmission comprises, wherein the predictingcomprises determining a probability that the number of codewords is onebased on a result of determining whether the location of the receiverdevice relative to the network equipment is outside of a defined range;and decoding a downlink control transmission comprising control channelinformation that facilitates scheduling the next data channeltransmission based on the number of codewords.
 2. The receiver device ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: in response tosuccessfully decoding the downlink control transmission based on thenumber of codewords, decoding a data channel based on the controlchannel information.
 3. The receiver device of claim 1, wherein thenumber of codewords is a first number of codewords, and wherein theoperations further comprise: in response to unsuccessfully performingthe decoding the downlink control transmission based on the first numberof codewords, decoding the downlink control transmission based on asecond number of codewords different than the first number of codewords.4. The receiver device of claim 1, wherein the network equipment isfirst network equipment, and wherein the defined range is determinedbased on at least one of a transmission power of the first networkequipment or an interference from second network equipment.
 5. Thereceiver device of claim 1, wherein the contextual information furthercomprises a rank indicator reported by the receiver device.
 6. Thereceiver device of claim 1, wherein the contextual information furthercomprises a historical number of codewords in a previous data channeltransmission prior to the next data channel transmission.
 7. Thereceiver device of claim 1, wherein the contextual information furthercomprises a network indication of a maximum number of layers.
 8. Thereceiver device of claim 1, wherein the number of codewords is one and anumber of layers associated with the data channel transmission is atmost four.
 9. The receiver device of claim 1, wherein the number ofcodewords is two and a number of layers associated with the next datachannel transmission is at least five.
 10. A method, comprising:predicting, by a receiver device comprising a processor, a number ofcodewords comprised in an upcoming data channel transmission based oncontextual information comprising a first location of the receiverdevice relative to network equipment, wherein the predicting comprisesdetermining a probability that the number of codewords is one based onan outcome of determining whether the first location of the receiverdevice relative to a second location of the network equipment is outsideof a defined distance, and wherein the predicting results in a predictednumber of codewords; and decoding, by the receiver device, a downlinkcontrol transmission comprising control channel information thatfacilitates scheduling the upcoming data channel transmission based onthe predicted number of codewords.
 11. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: in response to successfully decoding the downlink controltransmission based on the predicted number of codewords, decoding a datachannel based on the control channel information.
 12. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the predicted number of codewords is a first number ofcodewords, and wherein the operations further comprise: in response tounsuccessfully performing the decoding the downlink control transmissionbased on the first number of codewords, decoding the downlink controltransmission based on a second number of codewords different than thefirst number of codewords.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein thedefined distance is determined based on a transmission power of thenetwork equipment.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the contextualinformation further comprises a rank indicator reported by the receiverdevice.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein the contextual informationfurther comprises a historical number of codewords in a previous datachannel transmission prior to the upcoming data channel transmission.16. A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor of a receiver device,facilitate performance of operations, comprising: predicting a number ofcodewords that a data channel transmission to be scheduled comprisesbased on contextual information comprising a location of the receiverdevice relative to network equipment, wherein the predicting comprisesdetermining a probability that a number of codewords is one based on aresult of determining whether the location of the receiver devicerelative to the network equipment is outside of a defined range; anddecoding a downlink control transmission comprising control channelinformation that facilitates scheduling the data channel transmissionbased on the number of codewords.
 17. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the operations furthercomprise: in response to the decoding the downlink control transmissionbased on the number of codewords being successful, decoding a datachannel based on the control channel information.
 18. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the number of codewords isa first number of codewords, and wherein the operations furthercomprise: in response to the decoding the downlink control transmissionbased on the first number of codewords being unsuccessful, decoding thedownlink control transmission based on a second number of codewordsdifferent than the first number of codewords.
 19. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the defined range isdetermined based on an interference from other network equipment. 20.The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16, wherein thecontextual information further comprises a rank indicator reported bythe receiver device.